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citizen (n.)

has three current Standard meanings:

 (1) someone born in a particular place or nation; (2) a voting member of a republican city, nation, or state, who has various rights and responsibilities because of that status; and (3) a civilian, as contrasted with a soldier or other official. This last sense occurs in the common phrase an ordinary citizen, meaning one with only the powers and status conferred by that citizenship.

 

Kenneth G. Wilson (1923-). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.

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